Will Ferrell’s Best Movie Is Topping the Netflix Charts
Netflix is arguably one of the biggest comedic actors in the world, but one of his earliest and best films is currently tearing up Netflix.
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Will Ferrell is well-known as a long-standing member of the Hollywood comedy actor fraternity. His hits such as Elf, Step Brothers, and Anchorman are among the most re-watchable and beloved of all 21st-century comedies. Now though, one of his earliest and amongst his best works, Old School, is flying high in streaming, having cracked the top five in the US on the Netflix movie chart, according to FlixPatrol.
Old School may be too many a forgotten entry in the ever-growing catalog of Will Ferrell films and this in part is down to how early on it came in Ferrell’s career. A Saturday Night Live cast member between 1995 and 2002, Will Ferrell’s appearance in Old School came in 2003, making it one of his first feature roles after leaving SNL and followed his previous film credits of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and its sequel The Spy Who Shagged Me as well as Zoolander. Old School, directed by Todd Phillips (who is now known as one of Hollywood’s best directors thanks to Joker) stars Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, and Vince Vaughan as three depressed thirty-somethings who attempt to reinvigorate themselves by setting up a frat house near their old college hangout. It’s a premise that sees the leading actors and notably Will Ferrell in their element and you can see the anarchy that ensues in the film’s trailer below.
MovieWeb credits Old School as one of the top ten films in Will Ferrell’s extensive back catalog and credits his portrayal of Frank “The Tank” Richard as the role that helped kick-start his long and successful film career. This is a sentiment that is echoed by Insider, who called the film a “cult-classic” and say that Will Ferrell is a “fan favorite” as Frank Richard, again crediting the movie as a catalyst for his incredible film career. Even if Old School hadn’t been a success for Will Ferrell, 2003 also saw a film release that would ensure his star would shine for many years to come, Elf.
Elf became one of the most beloved Christmas movies in modern times and ensured Will Ferrell was a household name. After Elf, Will Ferrell went on a spree of producing comedy hit after comedy hit, with Anchorman, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro, and Step Brothers all being released in a five-year span. Ferrell followed these up with the incredible buddy-cop comedy The Other Guys in 2010 as well as some rousing voice-acting performances, notably in Megamind and The Lego Movie.
As well as being a talented comedy actor with a string of hits, Will Ferrell also has an impressive CV as a producer. Not only has Ferrell acted as a producer on several of his starring films, but he has also produced projects on both the big and small screen that have earned notoriety among fans along with critical and awards acclaim. Ferrell was a producer on films such as Vice and Hustlers and has executive produced television series such as Netflix’s Dead to Me, which has been nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards as well as HBO’s smash-hit Succession, a nine-time Emmy Award winner.
Will Ferrell’s career has spanned several decades, and his success in starring in hit comedies along with producing hit films and tv shows means he has extraordinary currency in the world of Hollywood. As such, he has a whopping fifteen upcoming acting projects according to IMDB and an eye-watering 42 upcoming projects as a producer, making him one of the busiest working people in Hollywood. GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT reported just weeks ago that Will Ferrell is set to team up with romantic comedy legend Reese Witherspoon on an as-yet-untitled project directed by Nicholas Stoller. However, one of the biggest projects Will Ferrell is featuring in is the upcoming Barbie live-action film directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie in the lead role. The hotly anticipated film, which Gerwig has co-written with Noah Baumbach, stars a whole host of Hollywood A-listers and Will Ferrell is reportedly playing the villain of the piece, which is currently shooting ahead of a 2023 release. So, with Will Ferrell’s future more than safe, wind the clock back to 2003 and see how Old School kicked off his Hollywood stardom.
